Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 15:07:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Doug <Doug@gorean.org> To: Adam Nealis <adamn@csl.com> Cc: freebsd-questions <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: when to use mergemaster? Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.05.9907201459240.27622-100000@dt011n65.san.rr.com> In-Reply-To: <3794B65C.113AA944@csl.com>
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On Tue, 20 Jul 1999, Adam Nealis wrote:
> I'm nervous enough when updating a live system, and although
> mergemaster looks just the ticket, could someone tell me
> when it should be used?
Well someone else already referred you to nik's tutorial, however
he has no mention of mergemaster. He and I also disagree on when exactly
to update /etc. At bare minimum you should check /etc/make.conf,
/etc/group and /etc/master.passwd _before_ you do the make world. I add
master.passwd in there because at different times people talk about adding
a user to the system, although I don't remember it ever happening. There
have been times in the past where a certain group was required for the
build to finish, but the last time was a long time ago. Still, better safe
than sorry, especially if you are trying to minimize downtime on a live
system.
If you want to be totally safe, do:
1. Check those 3 files
2. Do your make world thing
3. Make new kernel
4. Run mergemaster
5. Reboot
Of course, I'm leaving out a large number of specific steps, not
the least of which is that before you start you MUST have a good backup,
and you MUST test it to be sure that you can recover the data from your
backup media.
Personally I run mergemaster, check make.conf, make world, make
new kernel then reboot. In all the hundreds of times I have made the world
I've had to restore /etc from backup once, and gotten my system hosed mid
build once, but that was on -current and purely a result of bad timing.
If you're doing an upgrade on a live system, I'd go for the ultra
safe alternative, but you have to make that decision yourself.
Good luck,
Doug
PS, did I mention how important good backups are?
--
On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only
nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter
what it does.
-- Will Rogers
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